This trailer offers a look at gameplay from a 1997 prototype of Half-Life, the first-person shooter from Valve that went on to greatness. The content is intended to show off colored lighting and other technical innovations, providing an interesting insight into the evolution of the game. Thanks PC Gamer.

Elessar wrote on Jan 10, 2013, 11:49:Maybe someone can help me recall. But wasn't there a demo released before HL came out? Where there were marines that came rappelling down into a silo or something? I have a very vague memory of playing this, but I know I did and it wasn't the full game.

That was Uplink, which featured a level or two that wasn't in the main game.

I sent this to Blue a couple of weeks ago, but I don't think he ever ran it...

Maybe someone can help me recall. But wasn't there a demo released before HL came out? Where there were marines that came rappelling down into a silo or something? I have a very vague memory of playing this, but I know I did and it wasn't the full game.

Oh wow, I remember the days leading up to HL and SiN. I have my CGW, PCG and PC Accelerator mags to prove it! What a time! All this was new and exciting, back when 3D cards were '3D graphics accelerators'...ha! I remember getting my Pentium2/400mhz (that replaced my ancient 486DX2/66 that I had been nursing along until then...funny story I've told before but I was actually able to get Quake2 to run on that 486! It was in a window the size of a postage stamp, software rendering (obviously) and at like 2fps, but it ran! I was so proud! ), 128mb RAM on the legendary Asus 440BX chipset (P2B motherboard - still got the box, but not the board, FL's notorious lightning saw to that... ), a Diamond Stealth S220 (which was a 4mb Rendition-based board, 2D/3D) and a Diamond Monster3D2 (which was, of course, a 3DFX Voodoo2-based board with 8mb of memory and 3D only). Shortly after having it built, I added another Diamond Monster3D2 board (an RMA 'accident' - long story) and I was able to run it in SLI. Kick ass, though my PSU wasn't powerful enough and had intermittent black screens when running heavy-duty 3D-intensive games.

I was actually looking forward more to SiN than HL at the time. I really wasn't that excited about HL at all. SiN was the one I was constantly reading previews for and what not. It sounded and looked awesome. And, really, if you can look past the bugs (especially at release, where some of the game was absolutely broken), SiN was pretty awesome. I loved it and played the hell out of it. The patches certainly helped to bring the game to life too. Sometimes literally as some of the release bugs broke the bosses to where they didn't move AT ALL. One of the few games I've played through all the way multiple times. A forgotten gem, certainly. As for HL, I was able to get a copy free and played it quite a bit and it was amazing, but I just wasn't as into it as SiN for some reason, even though I probably logged more hours in it than SiN. *shrugs* I dunno. Maybe because there were so many new and different 3D games coming out at the time. I had all I could do being a young father, working 12 hour days and playing games while keeping a girlfriend and social life...

Other games back then that stand out are Total Air War (which was one that really brought my system down to it's knees at times), Grand Prix Legends (one of the only games that took advantage of the Rendition-based Diamond Stealth S220 board more than the 3DFX board, and looked stunning because of it!) and Jedi Knight (Dark Forces 2)...

=-Rigs-=

'Now, we gave you a promise and we are bound by that promise and damn you for asking for it! And damn me for agreeing to it! And damn all of us to Hell because that is exactly where we're going!'

KS wrote on Jan 9, 2013, 18:08:PC Gamer published an article, "6 Quake Killers", which held also-rans like Daikatana and Sin. Half-Life was a pathetic picture of a guy in the suit in a hallway.

At that point, it looked to be the biggest flop.

When it came out, and for the first 15 minutes you did nothing but look around from the monorail, with oodles of machinery including functional spider Caterlpillar equipment, you were hooked before firing shot one. Going through the experiment part also, and only then starting the real game. Nothing like that had been done before.

That was the point I started following fanatically (or around then, it may have been before.) All we knew was that it involved fights with multiple factions, and that's really all it took. Two screenshots and that knowledge and suddenly I was in #half-life hours a day and writing occasional updates for Sneak's Half-Life Page.

It was one of the big winners I picked early. As balance, the other FPS I was eagerly awaiting around that time was Rebel Boat Rocker's Prax War. That was going to be amazing! Or so I thought, right up until cancellation.

I remember that issue so well, though. Orangish color, I think with the SiN villain on it. I also played the SiN demo a few billion times, but never bought it. I did buy SiN episodes, which was a ton of fun until guys simply became too hard (in that they soaked up too many bullets, so you'd run out of ammo for the three measeley weapon offerings and still have enemies in front of you not dying.)

PC Gamer published an article, "6 Quake Killers", which held also-rans like Daikatana and Sin. Half-Life was a pathetic picture of a guy in the suit in a hallway.

At that point, it looked to be the biggest flop.

When it came out, and for the first 15 minutes you did nothing but look around from the monorail, with oodles of machinery including functional spider Caterlpillar equipment, you were hooked before firing shot one. Going through the experiment part also, and only then starting the real game. Nothing like that had been done before.

Love stuff like this. Taking trips in the Way-Back Machine to revisit old games can often be a disappointing experience as rose-colored memories often play tricks on us. Like a Planescape Torment or Duke Nukem 3D, The original Half-Life is always fun to revisit though.